We’ve put away our Christmas Trees here at the SRF and are now ready to head back to the track.   Hopefully, all of our readers have had a joyous holiday season, even if it did not include winning the recent Powerball jackpot.   Now, we can all eye smaller jackpots here on HRP as the 2016 racing season begins to heat up.  There are some good races this weekend, several of which are taking place here at the FG. Others will tell you about the biggest races on the card, but turfsters will have their turn as well in the 11th running of the Bradley Handicap, a Grade 3 event.  There is an increase in the purse of $25.000 from last year, though that should really be seen as it being restored to what it had been before last year.  Sri Lanka won that race, and the now seven-year old gelding went on to participate in the BC Turf at KEE.  We’ll add a shot out to him as well for winning the Grade 2 Ft Lauderdale at GP just last weekend.  The field this year is highlighted by Duca Di Toscana.  That goes without saying as none of the other six have accomplished what he has.  Although, don’t be so sure that he can’t be knocked off in this race.  There’s plenty of talent here, including his neighbor in the starting gate.  Let’s meet our field!

#1- Duca Di Toscana (Nakamura Stables, ridden by B J Hernandez Jr)-  Without question, this is the name that will stand out at anyone looking at the racing form.  This five year old gelding by Il MIglio Fabro has had a fabulous career, winning just over $1,600.000 in his career.  You can combine the total earnings of the rest of the field, and you would not match that figure.  His 2015 season saw him only run in top notch graded events, and he won three of nine.  On Halloween, he was part of the BC Classic field, but would only be able to finish 11th in that field.  He ran on the turf early in his career, but for the most part, he has been seen on the main track, so when Nakamura Stables sent him to the Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap in late November, it was a bit unexpected.  He ran against good turf runners there, including Visa Vice, and would end up in the winners circle.  No one in this field has been where Duca Di Toscana has consistently been.  He still seems to be in great form, and should be the favorite to win this race.  Remember though, this is a handicap, and Duca Di Toscana is the highweight considerably here, carrying six to seven more pounds then any of this competition, including one in the post next door that is coming off a monster SRF figure.  That will have to be taken into consideration, and if his odds start dropping real low, then you might want to take a shot elsewhere.

#2- Donnybrook (Grimley, ridden by K D Clark)-  What a fantastic race he had in his last outing!  Can he do it again?  After that monster run, which earned him a 105 SRF running this exact distance on the grass in a $50.000 claimer at AQU, former trainer Luz International opted to sell him to Grimley.  It was an $80.000 transaction, and now he is set to make his debut for the new connections who are certainly hoping for a repeat performance.   There will skeptics as to whether or not he can duplicate that, but past performances do clue in that this may be the perfect distance for him and Grimley may have picked up a true bargain if this trend continues.  That win was a career best, but there was a noticeable tactic change in it that saw him come from off the pace.   He’s a very interesting horse to watch here, to see just how good he may be able to become.  As he’ll carry seven fewer pounds Duca Di Toscana, he can be very capable of winning this event if we see the same horse we saw at AQU.

#3- Crescent City Rebel (Cps Stables, ridden by C Hernandez)-  It could be fitting for a horse named this, who is a LA-bred, to win the Bradley Handicap.   He is making a huge step up, but may prove to be another example of why free track claimers should still be checked.  Crescent City Rebel race the majority of his career for no purse money, and as recently May 2015 was running for a $5.000 tag at PEN.  In what was his second consecutive big win there, Cps Stables moved him to the pay side.  Recently, he was won two starter allowances in his last three starts, coming at KEE and here at FG.  Now, he makes a big move forward.  SRF figures suggest that he is going to have to pick it up a notch, but he did well here in his last race and will carry three fewer pounds in this race.

#4- Tucson (Aer Stables, ridden by F Geroux)-  This is the only horse in the field who can make an argument that he has raced against the same type of company as has Duca Di Toscana.  After all, he has, having participated in the prestigious Pattison at WO.  That’s a great race to have on the resume, but he was also thirteenth, and missed by eight lengths.   He was a non factor in the race, so it is tough to get too excited about it.  He has not raced since, so there will be a layoff in play here as well.  I would have liked to have seen him run against a softer field prior to making this jump, though perhaps the trainer was hoping the Duca Di Toscanas of the world would be looking elsewhere.  Tucson is a talented horse, don’t get me wrong, and I expect him to be in the mix here.  I would like him better in his next start, though, wherever it might be.

#5- Secret Song (Blushing Meadows, ridden by M Mena)-  This five year old gelding by Secret Ensign has had some great moments when racing in his home state, and you don’t have to look any further then his last start to see it.  Running here at the FG, Secret Song won the $100.000 LCD Turf, which is a restricted LA-bred race.  His win prior to that was also in a state bred event, taking an optional claimer.  The secret song may just be about Secret Song’s success in his home state, being 2-for-2 here, and 3-for-17 everywhere else.  In the LCD Turf, he turned in a 99 SRF, and the fact that he carries six pounds fewer then Duca Di Toscana starts to make him a very intriguing betting option.  If Duca Di Toscana struggles with the weight just enough, and if you are skeptical about Donnybrook, then Secret Song is the horse for you.

#6- Five Daddy Darling (Night Rider Stables, ridden by S X Bridgmohan)-   Early in his career, this six year old gelding never looked like the type of horse who would one day head to a graded stake.  He would be seen mostly at bottom or low tracks, and more often then not he was put up for claiming tags ranging between $8.000 and $15.000.  During that stretch, he changed trainer hands a couple times,  with Night Rider Stables claiming him in November 2014.  He was raced lightly in 2015, but flashed his potential in winning an N1X allowance back in February, then placed second in the $65.000 Opening Verse to an accomplished horse named Wine and Dine.  He hasn’t won since that allowance, but has been able to be in the money consistently.  Although, his last two races have seen him be third of three.  This will be his most challenging race to date, but he has earned the right to be here.